Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Setting the Scene/Review
We are continuing our journey through the book of Hebrews, so let’s once again set the scene.
The Christians addressed in this letter are being publicly persecuted and ridiculed.
Because of this persecution, many of the Christians are thinking about returning to their old way of life… Judaism.
This letter is essentially a written sermon designed to encourage these Christians to stick with Christ.
So, here is what we’ve already seen.
We’ve seen that God has spoken to us by his son, the exalted king, so we must pay much closer attention to what we’ve heard.
We’ve seen that Jesus is a greater Moses who will lead us to a greater rest if we remain faithful to him.
We’ve seen that Jesus is a Merciful High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness and deal gently with us.
Where We Are Going
In this lesson, we are going to focus on Hebrews 5:11-6:12.
The point that the author is trying to stress is that we as Christians…
We Must Go On to Maturity
Those Christians Failed to Go To Maturity
The Preacher of Hebrews has some things that he wants to teach them, but he’s worried that they might not be ready.
He wants to give them solid food, but they want/need milk.
What’s the solid food in this context?
Hebrews 5:9-14.
It’s the deeper teachings about Jesus.
He wants to show them how Jesus is our great high priest, but they haven’t matured enough yet, and this was a problem…
But notice that these Christians knowledge.
Hebrews 6:1-2.
They knew about baptism, faith, repentance, and judgment, so what was the problem?
The problem is that they never went beyond these foundational matters.
They never graduated to solid food.
They knew about baptism, but they didn’t know enough about Jesus and how he is woven through the entire bible story.
They needed to be taught that...
In the beginning, we see Jesus because the world was created through Him.
In Abraham’s story, we see Jesus because he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek
In the wilderness, we see Jesus because, like Moses, he will lead us to the land of rest.
During David’s reign, we see Jesus because Jesus is a king who is seated on David’s throne.
The author of Hebrews hits on all of these themes because it’s what his audience needed to know.
So, the author of Hebrews tells these Christians that it’s time to leave the elementary teachings of Christianity and go on to maturity.
We Must Go On To Maturity
So, the lesson for us is that we must go on to maturity.
The problem is that there are so many Christians who are content with sticking with the milk because that’s easy to swallow.
I’ve talked to many frustrated preachers who felt like some in their congregation never wanted to go on to maturity.
They just wanted sermons on baptism and instrumental music.
The author of Hebrews tells us that there comes a time when we must leave these things behind and press on to maturity.
When Ezekiel turns 3 or 4 and asks me to go over his ABC’s I will happily do it, but if he’s in High School and he’s asking me to go over his ABC’s, there’s a problem.
The alphabet is important… It’s the foundation of our language, but there comes a time when we move on to solid food.
In the same way, foundational doctrines are important, but there should come a time when we move on to solid food.
If I still need to go over the ABC’s, it’s because I haven’t spent enough time studying and practicing English.
BTW, I’m not saying that we don’t preach on baptism.
There are always new Christians who need that reinforcement.
So, what’s my point?
We as Christians need to continue growing into maturity.
Milk is easier to swallow, but we need to put in the time to chew on solid food.
Why?
Why? We’ll spend the rest of the lesson answering that question.
So that we can teach others
Hebrews 5:11-12.
“You ought to be teachers.”
What is one of goals as disciples of Christ?
It’s to teach others the gospel concerning Jesus.
Acts 8:4.
The author of Hebrews tells us that if we are going to be true and effective teachers, then we need to go on to maturity.
“If you know enough to be saved, then you know enough to teach others how to be saved.”
This is absolutely true.
So, why does the author of Hebrews imply that we need to be mature to be teachers?
It’s because the goal of our teaching is not to bring people to the water.
The goal of our teaching is to bring people to maturity.
Ephesians 4:11-14.
What’s our goal as teachers and evangelists?
We are to build up the body of Christ to mature manhood.
Matthew 28:18-20.
How do we make disciples?
We baptize them, but that comes first.
After that we continue teaching them so that they grow into maturity.
So, why must we go on to maturity?
So that we can teach and bring others with us.
So that we can discern good and evil
Hebrews 5:11-14.
“powers of discernment trained… to distinguish good from evil.”
This is extremely important because there are many Christians looking for the list.
“give me the list of all the things I need to do to go to heaven so I can start checking things off.”
The author of Hebrews tells us that mature Christians are able to discern good and evil.
The list is for children.
The Bible: Not a List of Dos and Don’ts
This makes sense because the Bible isn’t a list of dos and don’ts.
The first five books of the Bible are called “Torah,” and we think of it as “Law.”
But when you think of ‘law,’ what do you think of.
I think of a list like the Ten Commandments.
But that’s not what we see.
When we read through the book of Genesis, we don’t see law, we see story.
When we read through the book of Exodus, we don’t see law until we get to chapter 20.
So, the section of the OT that we call ‘law’ begins with 70 chapters of story.
The reality is that the word ‘Torah’ doesn’t really, or primarily, mean law.
It means instruction or direction.
So, when we think of God’s Torah, we should think of God’s instruction or direction for his people.
We see that beginning in Genesis 1.
God’s Torah isn’t just the weird stuff we see in Leviticus.
It’s also the story that we see in Genesis.
Why do I bring this up?
Because God’s instruction for us isn’t a simple list of dos and don’ts.
God’s instruction comes in the form of story, or letter, or poetry and we must discern good and evil.
What does this mean for us?
It means that there are things that we must discern…
There is no list that tells us which clothes are too short or too revealing.
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